The Magic of Verizon Wireless – NOT.

I won’t even share the details. Those of you who have had the ‘pleasure’ of dealing with Verizon Wireless support know how inane, insane, and pointless the whole process can be. Suffice it to say, that after spending 40 minutes on the phone with them this evening (half of that or so on hold), I cannot begin to express how joyful I am that I am no longer a Verizon Wireless customer.

I switched from Sprint to Verizon Wireless a bit over four years ago. In that time I have given them nearly $8,000 for phones, data services, and, of course, voice services. The end of our relationship came down to an argument over less than 1% of that amount. Instead of acknowledging that I was a very good customer they’d like to have back someday (my wife’s VZW contract is up in about 60 days, my company might need phones, etc.), they doused the bridge with kerosene and lit it up.

My take on wireless providers over the years is that it’s not about who’s great, it’s unfortunately about “who sucks less“. Perhaps Cingular will dissolve the cynic in me – though I won’t hold my breath just yet. So far, the staff in the Cingular store near my office have been nothing but helpful, responsive, knowledgeable, and pleasant.